Work on Noida’s Chilla elevated road to resume shortly

The work on this project was halted 1.5 year ago owing to fund issues that was resolved by the Uttar Pradesh government on July 6, 2023

The Noida authority is likely to restart the construction work on 5.96km elevated road that will offer seamless connectivity above Delhi-Noida Link road, said officials on Monday, adding that the tender for restarting the work is almost ready.

The UPSBRL will float the tender by August 15, following the recent sanction of ₹787.3 crore by the state government. (HT Photo)

The work on this project was halted 1.5 year ago owing to fund issues that was resolved by the Uttar Pradesh government on July 6, 2023, by approving a fresh budget for the project.

Now, the Uttar Pradesh State Bridge Corporation Limited (UPSBRL), the agency constructing the project, has prepared the tender that will be issued to restart the work, said officials in the know of the matter.

“The UPSBRL is likely to finalise the tender and issue the same paving the way for construction to resume at the site. We are in touch with the corporation and are assisting the tendering process so that work can restart without any delay,” said Shripal Bhati, deputy general manager, Noida authority.

The UPSBRL will float the tender by August 15, following the recent sanction of ₹787.3 crore by the state government.

The state government will bear 50% of the project cost, and the remaining amount will be funded by the Noida authority, said authority officials.

“The bid document is nearly ready, and we expect renowned companies to participate in the project. So far, only 13% of the work has been completed, and around ₹600 crore worth of work is still remaining. We aim to complete the work within the deadline so that commuters can have some relief,” said an official of UPSBRL asking not to be named.

The elevated road, spanning 5.96km, will have six lanes, and once ready, will allow congestion-free travel from Akshardham, Mayur Vihar, Noida, Pari Chowk, Kalindi Kunj, and Sarita Vihar.

The construction work will commence only after obtaining all necessary statutory clearances and environmental approval. Authority CEO Lokesh M will chair a high-level meeting to address any remaining issues before the work begins.

The authority started work on the Chilla elevated road on January 25, 2019, right after chief minister Yogi Adityanath laid the foundation stone for the project. The Noida authority in March 2020, in its 200th board meeting, asked its staff to stop work on the Chilla elevated road owing to a financial crisis.

Incidentally, it was the first time that the board decided to halt work on such a big infrastructure project, citing paucity of funds. The authority had completed around 10% work on this project by infusing its own funds. In 2018, the Noida authority and the state public works department agreed to fund the project on a 50:50 model. But when the PWD had not released funds, the authority had to halt the construction work.

The PWD said it could not release the funds because the committee headed by additional chief secretary (finance) did not approve the funding pattern, said officials.

“Earlier, without the approval of the cabinet, we could not get funds. But now we will get the funds and the project will be fast-tracked. In 2019, the work had started without the cabinet approving the funding pattern. As a result, the PWD could not release funds. But now all fund approval issues has been resolved,” said another Noida authority official, asking not to be named.